Human Geo Unit 6 Lecture Notes

Cities and urban land use patterns and processes

Central business district

The commercial and business center of a city, typically characterized by high land values, dense construction, and a concentration of retail and office facilities.

city

urban settlement that has been legally incorporated into an independent, self governing unit

urban area

consists of a dense core of census tracts, densely settled suburbs, and low-density land that links the dense suburbs with the core

metropolitan statistical area

A geographic region with a high population density and close economic ties, typically comprising a core city and surrounding suburbs.

annexation

process of legally adding land area to a city

density gradient

describes the change in population density as one moves away from the urban center.

sprawl

the expansion of urban areas into rural land, often leading to uncontrolled development.

filtering

large houses in older neighborhoods are subdivided into larger dwellings for low-income families

redlining

drawing lines on a map to identify areas in which they will refuse to loan money to purchase or fix up a house

gentrification

process by which middle-class people move into deteriorated inner-city neighborhoods and renovate the housing

underclass

inner-city residents that are trapped in an unending cycle of economic and social problems

foreclosure

the legal process by which a lender takes possession of a property when the borrower fails to make payments.